First Flight
by ZoomSwish
Summary: Little Tails is obsessed with Sonic's bi-plane, the Tornado, and so Sonic finally agrees to teach him to fly it. The age gap between them is closer to Archie canon than Sega canon .
1. Set in Stone

**First Flight**

**Chapter 1: Set in Stone**

"Wow, that airplane really belongs to _you?_"

It was about the fifth time the little fox had asked that question, yet his expression remained just as incredulous as the older boy, nine-year-old Sonic the Hedgehog, nodded.

"Yep." Sonic grinned a little at his best friend, resting a hand on the bi-plane's slightly flaked red paintwork, his pose slightly show-off-ish. He seemed to be getting a slight kick out of his companion's expression, but he couldn't really be blamed. Despite the fact that he had already been hailed as an international hero for kicking badnik butt across Mobius before even hitting double-digits, he really had very few physical possessions to his name; his sneakers, his gloves, a battered brown backpack... and a slightly tattered bi-plane.

The younger boy's eyes remained wide as he breathed out slowly. "That is _so _cool..."

"Used'ta belong t'my Uncle Chuck." The hedgehog's grin softened a little, his expression becoming a little thoughtful.

At six years of age, Tails the fox was astute enough to notice the slight change in his friend's demeanour, and he canted his head to the side slightly, looking up at Sonic with an 'o'-shaped mouth and wide eyes. He didn't know much about Sonic's family and was still perhaps a little young to fully understand what had happened to them. But he knew that something very bad had happened to the hedgehog hero's uncle not long before Sonic and Tails had met, and that even though years had passed since then, Sonic still missed his uncle and thought about him often. A few moments passed, with Tails remaining tactfully silence until Sonic spoke again.

"Left it t'me in his will. Real cool of him, huh?"

Tails nodded enthusiastically. "No kidding! That's _way_ past cool!"

Sonic couldn't help smirking a little as his little buddy mimicked one of the hero's trademark sayings. Tails was still at that age where he copied much of what Sonic said and did, and whilst that probably wasn't always for the best, it was highly flattering and fanned the young hedgehog's ego as well as providing him with an unintentional source of amusement. He reached down to ruffle the fox's head-fluff.

"Yeah, buddy. My Uncle Chuck was just a way past cool kinda guy."

"So... you can fly it, right?" The fox continued to look up with a wide-eyed expression that pretty much stated he would be heartbroken if Sonic said no.

Sonic blinked a couple times then gave a nervous grin, hand moving instinctively to rub the back of his head.

"Well... my uncle gave me a couple of lessons... before, you know..."

"Awesome!" Tails' eyes lit up and he bounced on his heels, tugging on Sonic's arm. "So, you'll teach me!"

It wasn't a question. Sonic blinked again.

"Gee... T2... I don't know if that— Tails!" The hedgehog made a grab for his little companion but the fox had already clambered up the side of the bi-plane and into the pilot's seat and was now admiring the controls with innocent awe. Sonic slapped a palm to his forehead and dragged it down his face. Ever since he'd found Tails, the little fox kit had been fascinated with technology. There had been enough incidents where Sonic had literally had to drag Tails away from the battlefield after a skirmish because he'd been attempting to take apart one of the fallen bots to see how it worked. Why should he have expected this to be any different? Just as long as Tails didn't attempt to take apart Sonic's 'plane, the hedgehog hero supposed no harm could come of the younger boy's fascination. So he decided to just stand by and let his best friend have his fun. Moments turned into minutes, minutes turned into a half hour. After inspecting all the controls, looking under both seats, and almost trapping himself in the cargo hold, Tails finally seemed satisfied. Dropping down to land next to Sonic, the younger boy wore a grin that stretched almost ear-to-ear. Sonic smirked and shook his head, giving his buddy a light noogie.

"Yer a crazy kid. Ready t'go home?"

"Promise you'll teach me to fly your 'plane?"

Trapped in Tails' intense aquatic gaze, Sonic knew he wouldn't get any peace unless he agreed to the fox's request.

"Tell ya what, l'il bro. When ya can sit in the pilot seat and touch the floor with both feet, then I'll teach ya. Sound fair?"

Tails gave his best friend a scrutinising look that lasted for several long seconds, hands resting on his hips in an authoritative manner, as if analysing Sonic's likelihood to keep his word. At length, he gave the older boy a nod. "But you've gotta keep your promise! Pinky shake on it."

He held out his hand, pinky finger extended. Grinning slightly at his buddy's serious expression, the hedgehog obliged, locking his pinky finger with Tails'.

"There, pinky promise. Y'happy now? Can we go home?"

Tails smiled brightly. "Okay Sonic. Just one more thing..."

Sonic quirked a brow. "Wha'ssat?"

"What's her name...? Your airplane _does _have a name, right?"

Sonic nodded, a hint of pride slipping into his voice as he draped an arm around the younger boy's shoulders, both of them regarding the battered bi-plane. "Yeah. She's the Tornado."


	2. A Deal is a Deal

Chapter 2: A Deal is a Deal

**Chapter 2: A Deal is a Deal**

The months passed, and almost every day was the same routine. Tails would find an excuse for them to go see the Tornado; he'd climb into the pilot's seat, and pout at the realization that he still hadn't grown enough for his feet to touch the floor. Sometimes Tails would spend hours just sitting in the bi-plane, pretending to fly it, or just staring wistfully into space. Sometimes Sonic would have to literally pry the little fox out of the cockpit (and learned that Tails had a surprisingly strong grip for such a small kit), and Tails would talk of little else than the lessons Sonic had promised him. Eventually Sonic started to leave Tails with the Tornado when he went for his early morning run, and although he missed the fox's company during those runs, it did seem to do the trick of subduing his obsessive airplane chatter during the rest of the day.

It was on one of those days, shortly after Tails' seventh birthday and not long after Sonic's tenth that Sonic arrived back from his morning run to find a very excitable little fox waiting for him. He'd barely skidded to a halt in front of Tails when the younger boy accosted him.

"Sonic! Sonic!! I did it! I can touch the floor of the Tornado with both feet! Now you HAVE to teach me!!"

Sonic arched a brow slightly and looked from his hyper best buddy over to the bi-plane just a little way off behind them. Tails was certainly growing fast, but he found it hard to believe that he could have grown _that _much in such a short amount of time. "Show me."

Tails happily whooshed off to the 'plane and clambered into the cockpit, settling down in the seat. As Sonic climbed up onto the wing, Tails gave him a wide smile and tapped his feet on the floor. "See?"

Sonic blinked and scratched his cheek. He couldn't help thinking something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He furrowed his brow. Had Tails really shot up that many inches, practically overnight? Then he saw it. The seat in the front of the cockpit was distinctly lower than the passenger seat behind it.

"Tails... did'ja... _lower _the seat...?" The hedgehog's voice was more baffled than anything else. Aside from the height difference, there was no sign that the chair had been tampered with.

Tails pouted, eyes downcast. "... maybe."

Sonic's brow furrowed more as he leaned over to inspect the side of the seat. "But these seats aren't adjustable."

Tails gave him a blank look, as if he didn't quite understand what the older boy was getting at. Sonic's expression became slightly exasperated. "How did'ja do it?"

"There was a toolkit under the passenger seat... Are you mad at me?" The fox's tone suddenly became very timid and he seemed to shrink back slightly, regarding Sonic with an uncertain expression.

Sonic was far too stumped to be mad. He shook his head slightly, then a slow grin spread across his face. "Yer really somethin' else, ya know that?"

Seeing the grin on the older boy's muzzle, Tails smiled hopefully, climbing out of the cockpit to sit next to Sonic on the wing. "So... you'll teach me? You _did _promise you'd teach me when I could sit in that seat with my feet touching the floor..."

Sonic laughed, wrapping the younger boy up in an impromptu hug, ruffling the fur on his head in a playfully rough way, causing the fox to squeal with delight. "Yeah, guess I did promise that, huh? Alright buddy, I'll teach ya. Can't promise I'll be the best teacher, but hey, you've got those two tails, right? Anythin' goes wrong, y'can fly to safety."

"How could anything go wrong if _you're _teaching me?" Tails looked up at Sonic, his expression so innocent and sincere that the young hedgehog felt a sharp tug at his heartstrings, and for a moment he wondered if perhaps he shouldn't have agreed to this at all. But there was no way he could go back on his promise now, so he just gave his best friend a soft grin and ruffled his head-fur again before dropping back down to the ground.

"Yer right. It'll be the best flyin' lesson ever." He wished he felt as confident as he sounded. He continued. "But let's get some shut-eye first, eh? We'll start bright n' early t'morrow."

"Yeah! _Alright!_" Landing next to the hedgehog, Tails ran in a little circle around Sonic, and then whooshed off back towards their humble little abode, twin-tail propellers going into hyperdrive. Sonic stared after him, and then shook his head with a rueful grin before speeding after him.


End file.
